Sunday, 16 February 2025

Extra-Galactic

Leaving the galaxy is a daunting prospect even in fiction. In Poul Anderson's Technic History, other galaxies are described as unattainable. Anderson characters leave the galaxy only in World Without Stars and Tau Zero.

James Blish characters leave the galaxy only at the end of Earthman, Come Home and throughout the whole of The Triumph Of Time although another set of characters receive messages from a future intergalactic civilization in The Quincunx Of Time and the star-dwelling energy beings called "Angels" have previously had dealings with civilizations in several galaxies.

EE Smith's Lensmen deal with two galaxies.

Fred Hoyle's and Geoffrey Hoyle's Into Deepest Space describes a long intergalactic journey.

Charles Harness's The Ring Of Ritornel features an empire of more than one galaxy.

Star Trek involves some intergalactic interactions.

That is all that I can think of.

9 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I think the FTL hyperdrive of Technic civilization could enable people to reach the Magellanic Clouds. But the journey would be so long that it would be effectively a one way trip.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

A lot of early SF didn't appreciate how -big- the universe is.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree, but are you suggesting any FTL drive should make other galaxies "easily" accessible to us? The Milky Way galaxy alone seems plenty big enough for mankind.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Sean: oh, no. For one thing, even if you could get there easily, a galaxy is -huge-.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree, even the Magellanic Clouds are huge. The Milky Way galaxy would be enough for mankind.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Sean: oh, enough for a while... 8-).

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Just a teensy little while! The "nearest" big galaxy to ours is the Andromeda galaxy. Who or what is over there?

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

In THE WINDS OF FATE, Artorius and a Roman general are having a conversation and the general notes that the new eastern frontier he recommends to the Emperor will run up the Dniester river, then over a short mountain stretch and then down the Vistula.

Shorter than the old Rhine-Danube frontier, easier to hold... and conveniently puts all the legions further from Rome.

"That will be enough," the general says.

Artorius puts on a city-of-Rome accent and says: "Enough. For now. For now."

Then they both laugh.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

That was funny! And that general did have a valid point, time would be needed to firmly integrate the new territories into the Empire.

Ad astra! Sean